1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reinforced concrete construction, and more particularly pertains to a method and apparatus for reinforced concrete construction for use in the construction of buildings, bridges, aqueducts, and other structures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Concrete and other cementitious materials typically exhibit high compressive strength characteristics, but rather low tensile strength characteristics. In order to increase the tensile strength of concrete sufficiently to enable its use in various structures, it has been known for many years to provide imbedded reinforcement members in the concrete. Such reinforcing members typically take the form of steel rods, mesh, cables, and the like which are put into position in molds or forms prior to pouring the concrete. A variety of patents disclose various methods and apparatus related to reinforced concrete construction.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,140,283 which issued to H. Faber on Nov. 21, 1936 discloses a monolithic slab floor construction including a plurality of imbedded sheet metal truss members within a gypsum and sawdust matrix. U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,908 which issued to I. McManus on Nov. 8, 1977 discloses a reinforced concrete slab construction in which apex portions of steel joist webbing members are anchored within the concrete slab. U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,842 which issued to R. Rockstead et al. on Aug. 8, 1978 discloses a skeleton wall structure including an imbedded reinforcement structure including mesh and generally sinusoidal truss members. U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,676 which issued to R. Artzer on Jun. 29, 1982 discloses a hollow core expanded foam panel construction including an imbedded wire reinforcement matrix having a plurality of generally sinusoidal trusses. U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,695 which issued to J. Person on Jun. 19, 1984 discloses a reinforced concrete floor construction system in which upper apex portions of steel joist trusses protrude through corrugated steel decking panels and into a poured concrete slab.
The above-described prior art construction methods suffer from one or more of the following drawbacks: (1) erection of the reinforcement members requires a great deal of labor; (2) the reinforcing members are not readily adaptable for the custom construction of various different architectural features depending on the individualized requirements of each particular project; (3) the reinforcing members do not collapse to a minimum volume configuration to reduce transportation and storage costs; and (4) the reinforcing members do not provide sufficient structural integrity to support concrete molds or forms in the absence of the provision of additional temporary supports or scaffolds.